What private label means on a cable
On a cable, private label is not a different product. It is a standard construction, made to IEC 60502-1, IEC 60227, EN 50618, TIA-568 or whichever standard applies, carrying your brand in the sheath print and on the packing. The conductor, insulation and sheath stay as the standard and the partner plant's test reports define them. What changes is the identity: the text printed along the sheath every metre, the wrap on each coil, the box for data cable, the tag on each drum and the documents that travel with the goods.
That distinction matters for brand owners, distributors and marketplace sellers alike. A brand on the sheath does not make you the holder of the partner plant's test reports or listings, and it does not let you claim a certification that belongs to the plant. The desk keeps the two apart in every spec sheet so that the print never says more than the documents support. See brand owners and private label cable for the commercial side.
Sheath print text
Sheath print is the most visible and the most regulated part of a private label order. A typical line, repeated at a fixed interval, carries the brand, the construction, the standard and the length mark. The desk drafts the line from your input and the standard, and the plant prints a short length for approval before the run.
- Brand and line name: your trade mark, in the form you hold the rights to.
- Construction: for example 0.6/1 kV Cu/XLPE/PVC 4x25 mm2, H1Z2Z2-K 1x4 mm2 or Cat6 U/UTP 23 AWG.
- Standard and class: the standard the construction is made to, and in the EU the CPR class as declared on the DoP.
- Year and batch: production year and a batch or drum code so that a drum can be traced back to its test record.
- Metre marks: sequential length marks so that site crews and buyers can read the length on the drum.
Some text belongs only to the holder: a listing mark, a BASEC name or a third-party certification mark can only be printed where the partner plant holds that approval for that exact construction and the certifier allows it. The desk checks this in the certifier's public database per order. The sheath printing explainer goes through the fields in detail.
Own-brand coils, boxes and drum tags
Packing is where most of the brand work happens, and it is far more flexible than the cable itself.
| Item | Typical options | Usual for |
|---|---|---|
| Sheath print | Brand, construction, standard, year, batch, metre marks | All lines |
| Sheath colour | Within what the standard and market allow | Building wire, cords, LAN, PV red or black |
| Coil wrap and label | Shrink wrap, printed label, barcode | Building wire, cords, 100 m PV coils |
| Pull box | Own-design 305 m box, reel-in-box, barcode | Cat6 and coax for retail and marketplaces |
| Drum tag and stencil | Brand, construction, length, gross and net weight, drum number | Power, armoured, fibre on drums |
| Document pack | Branded test record cover, packing list, user leaflet | Distributors and project buyers |
Box artwork and labels are supplied by you or drafted by the desk from your brand guide. For marketplace sellers the box usually also needs a barcode and the warnings your marketplace requires; confirm those with your compliance adviser.
Documents under your brand
A private label shipment still needs a traceable paper trail. The usual pack is a packing list by drum or box, routine test records per drum (conductor resistance, voltage test, and for fibre the OTDR traces per datasheet), the inspection report and, for the EU, the DoP and CE marking for construction products. The desk can put those records under a branded cover, but the test data itself stays as issued, with the plant or laboratory identified where the document requires it. Altering a test report is not offered.
What cannot be customised
- Conductor class, size and resistance limits set by IEC 60228.
- Minimum insulation and sheath thickness set by the product standard.
- Category cable conductors: category cable requires solid copper conductors; CCA cannot be labelled as Cat6.
- Fire behaviour: only the CPR class declared on the DoP or a result per test report can be printed.
- Certification marks the partner plant does not hold for that construction.
How a private label order runs
- You send the constructions, sizes, quantities, market and brand assets through the quote form.
- The desk drafts print text, packing artwork and the document pack, and checks what the standard and certificates allow.
- A printed sample length and box proof are approved in writing; MOQ per size follows MOQ and lead time.
- Print, metre marks and labels are checked on every drum or box during inspection before loading.